ANAHEIM >> You couldn’t pin this one on Kings goaltender Peter Budaj.
The Kings’ 1-0 loss Sunday to the Ducks at Honda Center wasn’t like a few of the others. Budaj made all of the saves he could make and kept the Kings within striking distance right down to the final frantic moments. He wasn’t a miracle-worker, however.
Ducks defenseman Josh Manson scored the only goal of the game 1 minute, 19 seconds into the second period, sneaking within point-blank range, accepting an alert cross-ice pass from center Ryan Getzlaf and snapping the puck into the back of Budaj’s net.
Budaj was not to blame.
Too many Kings were caught on Getzlaf’s side of the ice, too focused on the puck. Manson charged into an open patch of ice and Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was too late in recognizing what was about to happen. Budaj had no chance to stop Manson’s shot.
In the end, one was all it took to send the reeling Kings to their third consecutive loss and their fifth in the past six games. The Kings fell to 28-26-4 and remained in fifth place in the Pacific Division, two points behind the fourth-place Calgary Flames in a fight for a wild-card playoff spot.
Perhaps in the past two games, or maybe a few others, Budaj could be faulted for his play.
Kings coach Darryl Sutter criticized Budaj for giving up “soft goals” lately.
There was plenty of blame to go around Sunday, however.
For starters, there was the defensive breakdown on Manson’s goal.
Then there was the fact that the Kings failed to solve Ducks goalie John Gibson.
Budaj made 28 saves; Gibson had 24.
Naturally, Budaj refused to fault his teammates. He praised them instead.
“Overall, we tried to limit them to the perimeter,” Budaj said of the Kings’ defensive pressure on the Ducks. “When I made a save, guys were able to clear the rebounds. Guys did a great job on the penalty kill. We blocked a lot of shots and kept them to the outside. They have a lot of skill out there.”
Sutter has stuck with Budaj through good times and now bad ones. It’s unstated but crystal clear that Sutter doesn’t trust backup Jeff Zatkoff to play except in an emergency situation. Budaj started Sunday for the second consecutive night and for the third game in four days.
Zatkoff has made only 13 appearances this season.
Budaj has been the Kings’ clear No. 1 since an overtime victory Oct. 20 over the Dallas Stars, which was eight days after Jonathan Quick suffered a serious groin injury in the first period of the season-opening game against the San Jose Sharks.
Quick has been skating, but there’s no firm timetable on his return to the lineup.
Meanwhile, it’s Budaj’s net. Fatigue is not an issue, Budaj said.
“I felt good,” he said. “It was less than 24 hours (since the Kings’ 3-2 loss Saturday to the Florida Panthers). I try to take care of my body and get myself ready. It was a good tight game today. We just came up short. We have to find a way to win these games.
“We can’t let two points slip away.”
Asked he would be ready Tuesday to face the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, Budaj shrugged and ran his hand through his hair.
“We don’t know,” he said. “The coach is going to tell us.”
Budaj will play.
Bank on it.
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